GRE Verbal : Text Completion
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
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Example Questions
Example Question #431 : Text Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Television networks focus on their shows' __________ of viewers, finding that shows that keep their audience do better in the long run.
relapse
degradation
retention
respite
depreciation
retention
The structure of the sentence indicates that the correct answer will mean something highly similar to keeping an audience. Out of all the answer choices, only "retention," meaning preservation, works in the sentence.
Example Question #432 : Text Completion
The princess' __________ was noted throughout Europe, and she consequently had many eager suitors.
comeliness
caginess
obstreperousness
intemperance
lugubriousness
comeliness
A princess having "many eager suitors" indicates she "was noted throughout Europe" for being quite desirable. The correct answer must indicate a high level of attractiveness. "Comeliness," meaning beauty or prettiness, is the best choice among the answers.
Example Question #433 : Text Completion
Despite calls for a __________, both sides continued their fighting as before.
duping
fusilade
moratorium
monolith
barrage
moratorium
The sentence says "both sides continued their fighting as before," indicating they ignored the missing word. The correct answer must mean a stop or temporary prohibition, the definition of "moratorium."
Example Question #369 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Texts
The dog showed his __________ by sitting when his master asked.
audacity
defiance
effrontery
complaisance
complaisance
"Complaisance" is a willingness to comply to the wishes of others.
Example Question #434 : Text Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
She blamed her roomate's __________ in leaving the window open and letting the cat escape.
petulance
subterfuge
hindrance
deference
negligence
negligence
The phrase "leaving the window open" does not indicate an active deed or intentional action. The correct answer will indicate the roomate's inaction. "Negligence," meaning carelessness or inattention, is the best choice among the answers.
Example Question #1 : Verbs In One Blank Texts
Mark was asked to __________ the professor of his arrival to class, so that they could discuss his recent performance on the final exam.
enshroud
caché
apprise
ensconce
apprise
Apprise—to give notice to; to inform.
Example Question #1 : Verbs In One Blank Texts
The author's disdain for his negligent mother was __________ the inclusion of the chapter in his novel involving a distant mother leaving her son alone on the streets to fend for himself.
obscured in
illluminated by
fraught with
marred with
lauded in
illluminated by
The author is implied to have had a negligent mother, and this is alluded to in the inclusion of a chapter involving a negligent mother in his novel. As such, "illuminated by" makes sense in this sentence, as the inclusion of such a scene in his story would hint at the author's feelings about his own mother.
Example Question #2 : Verbs In One Blank Texts
The stray dog was skittish around humans, often __________ himself behind walls and trees when he heard people.
obscuring
presenting
broaching
stunning
breaching
obscuring
The dog is essentially hiding from people when he hears them, and the correct answer will in some way be a synonym for hiding. Of all the answer choices, only obscuring means hiding or being unseen.
Example Question #3 : Verbs In One Blank Texts
With his handlebar mustache and loping walk, he ____________ the look of the nineteenth-century baseball player although he was simply reenacting the way the game was played.
subverted
epitomized
underscored
misappropriated
disassociated
epitomized
The structure of the sentence indicates that the ballplayer looked exactly like a nineteenth-century player, despite not being one. The correct answer choice should indicate that he is a model. Epitomized, meaning "embodying and exemplifying the basic elements of something," is the correct answer choice.
Example Question #4 : Verbs In One Blank Texts
Although he ___________ in judging the distance across the lake, a strong wind propelled the skipper's boat in record time despite the miscalculation.
erred
obscured
excelled
broached
triumphed
erred
The best word to find the correct answer is "miscalculation," and all the other words are extraneous distractions. The structure of the sentence places many words between the missing word and miscalculation, but the correct choice needs to be close in meaning to miscalculation. Only "erred," meaning to make a mistake, fits the correct meaning of the sentence.
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